The Struggle For Survival
by samrinho
Summary: ON HIATUS...
1. The Split Up

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with J.K Rowling.

**AN:** Just to let you know in this story the Golden trio have already heard about what happened to Ginny and the others that tried to steal the Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's Office. The argument and split up takes in place a couple of days later.

**Chapter 1**

**The Split Up **

As the days stretched in to weeks, Harry began to suspect that Ron and Hermione were having conversation without, and about, him.

Several times they stopped talking abruptly when Harry entered the tent, and twice he came accidentally upon them, huddled a little distance away, heads together and talking fast; both times they fell silent when they realized he was approaching them and hastened to appear busy collecting wood or water.

Harry had began to notice the behavioral and attitude changes in both Ron and Hermione ever since they heard a conversation among a couple of people who were on the run from the death eaters, they were talking about an attempted theft on the Gryffindor's sword by the youngest Weasley and her other friends. The attempt was foiled by Snape who caught them in his office and they were taken to Hagrid for punishment in the forbidden forest.

It was through this conversation that Harry realized two things. The first being that the sword that was in Snape's office was a fake one and the second thing was, Dumbledore had used the Gryffindor's sword to break the Slytherin's ring when they asked the portrait of Phineas Nigellus (which Hermione had been carrying it in her beaded handbag at that time.)

Since that day they had been acting cold and distance towards him. He could not help wondering whether they had only agreed to come on what now felt like a pointless and rambling journey because they thought he had some secret plan that they would learn in due course.

Ron was making no effort to hide his bad mood and Harry was starting to fear that Hermione too was disappointed by his poor leadership. In desperation he tried to think of further Horcrux locations, but the only one that continued to occur to him was Hogwarts, a Ravenclaw Tiara that was hidden in the room of requirement where he had kept the Half-Blood Prince potions book, and as neither of the others thought this at all likely, he stopped suggesting it.

It had been four days since they had heard about what happened to Ginny and the others, the tension had been high between them. Right now Harry was sitting outside, reading a book on how to _'Discovering your Metamorphmagy Skills' , _a book that he had been given by Tonks in his Seventeenth birthday. Just as he was getting himself into a more comfortable position, he had the whispering between Hermione and Ron beginning curious as to what they were talking about he reached into his pocket and withdrew the Extendable Ears and he quietly slipped inside the tent.

"_I am telling you Mione this is ridiculous we are not getting anywhere with the so called Horcrux hunt! __Potter himself doesn't even know what the hell he is doing let that alone he doesn't even know the rest of the Horcruxes or where they are. We are not even able to eat decent food and beside I miss my family and I am tired of this, I think it would be best if we just went back to the Burrow."_ an irate Ron whispered to Hermione  
.

"_I know Ron, Harry is so engrossed in his ego that he doesn't realize that we need help desperately. Remus had offered to help but he had to go and yell at him and blow our only chance of getting any help away. I think you are right Ron, this is getting us nowhere, I don't wha......."_

She never got to finish her sentence as at that moment Harry had enough of hearing them badmouthing him. Putting the the Extendable Ears in his pocket. He withdrew out his wand and walked inside leaving the book he was reading outside. His face displaying pure rage he strode in to the tent, when Ron and Hermione gulped in fear at the look on Harry's face.

"_So it seems the two of you have been busy talking about me behind my back._" Harry said as he struggled to keep his voice down. _"Harry its not what it seems like..."_ Hermione pleaded as she saw that they had been caught red-handed.

"_Shut up! I heard both of you talking about me and guess what I heard everything that you were saying about me_._"_ no longer able to maintain his cool composure he yelled at Hermione who backed away in fear.

Ron who didn't like it when Harry yelled at Hermione so he quickly rushed to her defense. _"__We thought you knew what you were doing!" _shouted Ron, standing up, and his words pierced Harry like scalding knives_. "We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!"_

_  
_Hermione stood quietly next to Ron and she looked pretty pleased and smug at the same time when he rushed to her defense.

"_Well, sorry to let you down," _said Harry, his voice quite calm even though he felt hollow, inadequate._ "I've been straight with you from the start; I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And in case you haven't noticed, we've found a Horcrux"_

_"Yeah, and we're about as near getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them nowhere effing near in other words?Didn't you hear what they said about my sister? But you don't give a rat's fart, do you, it's only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I've-Faced-Worse Potter doesn't care what happens to her in there well, I do, all right, giant spider and mental stuff—" _Ron replied snidely.

"_Take off the locket, Ron, I think it would be best if we left and let him follow a dead mans order of searching for things that we don't even know of." _Hermione said in a superior voice "_We all know that this is a lost course, you need help but you large ego won't let you. I can't even believe we left school for this crap! Oh and before we go I think it would be best if we just gave you what Dumbledore left for us I think it would help you more than us."_

_  
_Before either of the two could give Harry the gift they were given by Dumbledore, they were both hit with silent stunners at the same time followed by a disarming spell. Harry who was fuming from what his so called friends were saying about him and Dumbledore having heard enough he just let the wand do the work for him.

Moving towards Ron he enervated him and cast a _Petrificus Totalus_ on him Ron eyes widened as he saw that he couldn't move and Harry had his wand pointed at him. Casting a wordless _Legilimens _on Ron he searched for all his memories with any thing concerning Horcruxes and he brought them forward and obliviated all his memories on Horcruxes leaving only the recent memory of them arguing with Harry on the lack of progress in their mission, returning the things given by Dumbledore and also insulting Harry.

After doing the same to Hermione, Harry freed both of them from the petrifying spell. Looking at the two former friends that seemed to have ditched him in the middle of a crisis. "_Well since you two were so adamant on leaving, why don't you just leave the things that Dumbledore gave like you wanted to do earlier. Just to let you know I have obliviated all the memories the two of you had on you-Know-What. So that you don't go and spill your guts to other people." _He told them coldly.

"_Harry! I can't believe you obliviated us! How could you? Come on Ron just give him the Deluminator. Harry you are a wanted man, how are do you think you are going to survive and for how long can you manage to do this by yourself? Just for the sake I don't think Ron and I are ready to die for you." _Hermione spoke breathlessly as tears were running down her pale face.

Getting no answer from Harry she threw the book on '_The Tales of Beedle the Bard' _on the nearest chair as Ron did the same with the Deluminator. Looking at Harry with a sorrowful eyes she quickly packed her things and waited for Ron to finish. Once he was done Harry gave them back their wands, and he did not bother to even look at them as they headed for the exit.

Before leaving Hermione turned to look at Harry one last time and she said _"Am sorry for this Harry but your ego has already gotten people killed and it could kill us too. I've left a book on healing for you, in case you are hurt or injured when you do something stupid."_ Getting no response from him she sighed and left the tent before Ron followedher, he looked at Harry and said _" I can't wait to go and eat mum's food after all these crap I've had to put up with for the last two months and to be clear with you I think it would be much safer and better for Ginny to get her self a new boyfriend she deserves someone better than you."_

As soon as Harry heard two pop sounds he collapsed on the floor and clutched his head in disbelief and despair at being abandoned by his best friends. Dragging himself to the nearest bed he threw himself face first on the bed and willed himself to sleep hoping this was just a bad dream and it would all go away when he woke up in the morning.

* * *

As morning came a miserable teen sat in his bed abruptly, looking at his surroundings with a hopeful look before it fell as he realized something. Dragging himself slowly he made himself hot tea and he sat down with a heavy sigh as he remembered what had happened yesterday. Reaching for his wand he was surprised to see that he had left it on the floor where he had collapsed first before he went to sleep.

Unconsciously he willed his wand to him and he was shocked to see the wand float towards him. Getting excited at the possibility that he could do wandless magic he willed the book on Warding to him and he was pleased to see that it worked again. As soon as he finished his tea he flicked his wrist as he concentrated in willing his magic to clean and pack everything in the tent, he was successful but he felt like he had drained his magic.

As he rested for a few minutes to regain his energy he tried to come up with places where he could go and at the same time be able to lay low while he looked for the Horcruxes and at the same time he needed to find where the Gryffindor's sword was. He was struck with an idea and he called out "Kreacher!" a pop sound announced the arrival of his house elf.  
_  
"At last Master has called for Kreacher. What can Kreacher do for you Master?"_ the demented elf spoke out in his low voice. "_Kreacher can you tell me if there are people staying in the Grimmauld place?"_ Harry asked quickly as ideas kept coming in his head. The ancient house elf looked at Harry and answered _"Master, people stayed there after you left, but not anymore."_

Looking pleased at hearing that he breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing that the deatheaters could easily access the Grimmauld place, he knew that it wouldn't be safe to stay there until the house was under the Fidelius charm. Knowing that he could perform the Fidelius charm even though it took a lot out of a person, but he lacked the ward-stones that were used to in protecting ones house.

Getting an idea, he leaned closer to the house elf who had been waiting for him to talk _"Kreacher, do you know what ward-stones are? _'Seeing him nod his head, he continued' _I want you to do something for me that is important okay, I need you to find four ward-stones and then bring them to me as fast as you can. Do you understand me Kreacher?"_ the ancient house elf croaked as he looked pleased to be given something to do at last _"Right away Master." _and with soft pop he was gone leaving Harry alone in the tent.


	2. Back To Grimmauld

**CHAPTER 2**

**Back To Grimmauld**

After Kreacher had left Harry focused his attention on the book on Warding, which he had been given by Bill Weasley during his Seventeenth birthday at the Burrow. As he read about the Fidelius charm he noticed that he could either choose someone to be his secret-Keeper or he could either choose himself as the caster to be his own secret-Keeper. Another thing that he learned was that he needed to tie the Fidelius charm to a ward-stone that only he could identify it.

As for the wards that they had been using whenever they went they were easy to set up and anyone who was a skilled curse breaker could easily identify them and break them in a matter of minutes. Sighing loudly he moved towards his packed backpack and removed the clothes he was wearing and replaced with some that were clean.

As he headed towards the outside of the tent he saw his book on Metamorphmagy lying on the grass. Summoning it wandlessly he pocketed it and he went to take a quick walk. Reaching the river bed he sat down staring at the moving river. The cool air had somehow helped him by clearing his head of any lingering thoughts and worries.

He was so focused at the moving river that he hardly heard the soft pop of Kreacher apparating right beside him. He was startled when he felt someone touch him, whipping his wand at a lightning speed towards where he had been touched. Seeing that it was just Kreacher he breathed a sigh of relief. Noticing the bundle in his arms he questioned him _"I see you managed to get the ward-stones, is there anybody right now at the Grimmauld place?"  
_  
Looking pleased at himself Kreacher puffed his chest and said _"No Master, there are no filthy murderers in the Ancient and Noble House of the Black." "Well I guess its time to move on from here come on Kreacher help disassemble the tent and go to and ward the Grimmauld place. Why don't you go ahead Kreacher and clean the house I will be there after I'm done here. Also you warn should any person come to the Grimmauld place."_After an excitedKreacherleft he entered the tent and picked up his warding and the healing book left by Hermione. Stuffing them in his bottomless backpack, he went outside and started dismantling the wards that they had put up. After doing that, with a flick of his wand the tent was neatly packed and folded, picking it up he kept it in his backpack. Before he apparated away he covered all his tracks carefully making it look like he had never been there before. Glancing back at the place where a seven year relationship had been broken he focused on the pack near the Grimmauld place and without any sound he apparated away.

_  
_Soundlessly he appeared in the park that was opposite the Grimmauld place, as he looked at the house he knew that all the protective charms were broken and it would be risky staying in there unless he kept it under Fidelius and other protecting charms. Putting on his invisibility cloak he stayed there for a couple of minutes, making sure that there were no deatheaters lurking around. After seeing no sign of them he moved towards the Grimmauld place, opening the door silently he slipped inside.

Moving towards the kitchen he saw Kreacher working diligently, trying to make some food. Removing his invisibility cloak he stepped in to the kitchen._ "I see you are doing a good work Kreacher, but this house is so big I think you are going to need some help in cleaning it."_ Kreacher who looked pleased at being praised he scowled when he heard that he was to be assisted by others in cleaning the house. _"Dobby!"_ Harry called out as he figured that the hyper-active house elf would be glad to help in cleaning the house.

A soft pop announced the presence of another house elf._ "Harry Potter sir! What can poor Dobby do for the Great Harry Potter?"_ Dobby squeaked as he hugged Harry's knees. _"Thanks Dobby, I would like you to help Kreacher here in cleaning this house as fast as you can, while I put some protection charms on the house. Is that understood Dobby?" _Harry said seemingly unaffected by the comments given by Dobby.

_"Of course Harry Potter Sir. Dobby loves to serve the Great Harry Potter."_ Dobby jumped up and down obviously excited at being able to serve Harry Potter. With a soft pop he was gone to clean the rooms that were upstairs. As Harry looked at Kreacher the crazy old house elf just said_ "Kreacher lives to serve the Ancient and Noble house of The Black."_ and he continued with what he was doing earlier.

As Harry turned to leave the kitchen he was struck with a brilliant idea calling for Dobby again who reappeared before him he said_ "Oh and Dobby I think it would be much better if you removed those heads of the house elves that are on the walls. While you are at it also remove the portrait of Mrs. Black and I give you permission to use any means necessary to remove it. That's all." "Yes Harry Potter sir, Dobby will do that right away."_ Dobby answered before disapparating.

Leaving the kitchen he took out his book on warding and the ward-stones. Putting on his invisibility cloak he stepped out of the Grimmauld place. Moving towards the park facing the Grimmauld he stationed him self there so as to start doing the protecting and Fidelius charm on the house.

Harry reached into his bag and floated out four anchor stones. He started carving rudimentary symbols onto the stones. Willing his magic he used wandless magic to levitate the four stones, they zipped away from their bodies, held in place by the wandless levitation spell.

Harry was chanting under his breath and sounded slightly like an old man wheezing before swirling his arm in a large circle and pointing his wand straight into the ground.

"_Fidelio_!" Harry cast in a firm confident voice. Magic flowed from his wand into the ground and seeped outwards until it hit the four stones arranged in a square around them. As soon as the magic reached the stones it began to flow perpendicular to the ground towards the sky. Harry snapped his wrist and twisted his wand to point straight up sending more magic flowing upward. It flattened against the rooftop of Grimmauld place No.13 and began to spread outwards, meeting the magic flowing from the stones at sharp crisp corners.

A blinding white light flashed once indicating that the Fidelius charm was done. Sweating profusely Harry knew he had drained his magic and it was a matter of minutes before he passed out. Looking around to make sure no one had seen the blinding white light; he staggered to his feet and quickly started putting up muggle repelling charms, apparition and portkey wards. Stumbling he dragged himself inside the house and in to the kitchen where he collapsed on the nearest chair and he passed out from magical exhaustion.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes as he felt something shaking him hard. Stretching his arms he heard his name being called. _"Harry Potter Sir must wake up now!"_ As he focused his eyes on where the noise was coming from he saw, _"Dobby, Kreacher, what is going on here?"_ Harry questioned the two House elves that were in front of him.

Kreacher moved towards Harry and said _"Master has slept for a full day. Master has to wake up and eat now."_ as soon as he finished Dobby piped in looking excited and pleased at the same time_ "We have finished cleaning the house as you requested Harry Potter Sir, Dobby even put your things in the master bedroom."_ as Harry stood up from his chair to stretch himself, he was pleased to see the noticeable changes in the kitchen. Where once it had been dark, filthy and smelly was now gone and what was there now was a clean and light kitchen,  
_  
"I must say I am impressed with what you two have done. If you will excuse me now I am desperately in need of a shower. By the way Dobby where is the master bedroom?" _Harry asked Dobby as he reached for the door. _"It is in the topmost landing, the door with the label named Sirius." _The bat eyed elf answered.

After a long hot shower, he took his time in exploring the house he came up with nothing interesting. The only things interesting that he found was the Black library that seemed to be filled with books in all the shelves, he was surprised to have not found it when they had stayed here after they escaped from the deatheaters at the burrow.

On his to the kitchen he was pleased to see that Dobby had managed to remove Mrs. Black portraits and also the heads of the elves that were hanged on the wall.

As soon as he entered the kitchen he was quickly pushed in to the nearest table and told to eat by both elves. Chuckling at their antics Harry was curious at what was happening at Hogwarts so he asked Dobby since he worked there _"Dobby can you tell what's going on at Hogwarts, apart from the time where Ginny Weasley and the others tried to steal the Gryffindor's sword from Snape. What else has been happening there?"_ solemn Dobby answered Harry as he clutched a table towel tightly while twisting it at the same time _"Harry Potter Sir, things at Hogwarts are not good at all. There are bad teachers_ _working for you-Know-Who there. They punish the students using the unforgivable curse."_Harry was aghast to hear that the two Carrows (Recalling when Remus visited them while they were in Grimmauld place) worried about the safety of Ginny he asked Dobby _"How is Ginny and her friends? Are they okay?" _Dobby looked like he was afraid to tell him something his heart lurched as he started fearing for the worst. Not able to hold his curiosity any longer he ordered Dobby to tell him what he was hiding. Dobby if possible he twisted the table towel even harder before he proceeded to tell him, _"Dobby is sorry to tell you this Harry Potter Sir, but your Wheezy girl is fine, but she is with Longbottom now she is no longer your Wheezy girl now."_ right after he had finished saying that he proceeded to knocking his head using a pan. Harry who hadn't expected that, felt like his heart had completely shattered.

Dropping whatever he had in his hand he left the kitchen and went into the living where he sat on the nearest chair and brought his legs close to his chest as he stared at the fire burning on the fireplace, tears streaming down his face at what he felt.

He knew it was his fault that he had broken up with her he was sure she would wait for him until this was over and they would be back together, but she seemed to have moved on pretty quickly for someone who said she loved him since first year, possibly forgetting about him. But then again Hermione's words played in his mind again _"Just for the sake I don't think Ron and I are ready to die for you." _these words hurt Harry more than he could admit it. He had been prepared to die for them before but now he wasn't so sure about that anymore after what they did to him.

Rubbing his stained face, he walked back in to the kitchen; ideas flowed in to his head at a fast rate. _"Dobby!" _Harry called out the for Dobby_, "What do you know about the Gryffindor's sword that is in Snape's office." _looking confused at the type of question asked Dobby answered _"Harry Potter Sir, Dobby is knowing that Headmaster Dumbledore kept the sword in his personal room and the new bad headmaster has not yet removed it from there."_rowing excited he stared down at Dobby and asked him _"Dobby do you think you can bring the sword to me?" "I am sorry Harry Potter Sir. But Dobby is bonded by the Hogwarts rule. I can not take the sword away from Hogwarts." _

Frowning in disappointment, Harry tried to think of what else he could when he saw a loop hole in what Dobby had said. _"Hold on a minute Dobby, did you say that you are not able to take the sword away from Hogwarts?" _seeing his nod he continued _"So that means you can take it from the Snape's office and give it to me while I am there at Hogwarts. Because technically speaking you won't be breaking the rules of Hogwarts that you are bonded with, since you will not have taken the sword out of Hogwarts ground instead it will be me that will be doing that."  
_  
Looking at the tiny elf in front of him he asked him _"Am I right Dobby?" _The house elf not seemingly pleased with the idea but could do nothing about it since Harry was right, nodding his head in agreement. Harry looking pleased that his plan was starting to work, he dismissed Dobby back to Hogwarts telling the house elf to remove the sword from there as soon as he could and to create an illusion where the sword was, to fool Snape should he come to check on it.

Before Dobby went away he instructed him carefully to hide the sword until he (Harry) came to Hogwarts to collect it along with other things.

Once Dobby was gone, he turned to look at Kreacher who was sulking at being ignored because of another house elf. _"Well Kreacher it looks like you have another task. I would like you to go down the Knockturn Alley and get me a book on how to become an animagus and also the potion needed to drink so as to become one. Oh and Kreacher, do whatever means necessary so that you obtain those and while you are there I would like a new pet. I'm sure that in Knockturn Alley there are shops that sell magical creatures illegally, I don't want an owl, I don't think there is another one that can replace Hedwig. Whatever magical creatures that you think are worthy enough, buy them if not possible, you know what to do."_Kreacher's eyes widened at the kind of task he was given. Smirking evilly he bowed and muttered _"Kreacher is honored at being given such an important task. I will not disappoint you Master." _and with that he was gone.

Harry rolled his eyes at Kreacher's antics, knowing he was the right house elf for such kinds of jobs he didn't worry that much at whether he would be successful or not. Leaving the kitchen Harry made his way to the Black's library to prepare himself for the days to come.


	3. Letters

**Chapter 3**

**The Break In**

**  
The Burrow**

Three days had passed since Ron and Hermione had apparated back to the burrow, and neither of them had yet to speak of what happened. On the fourth day at the burrow the two of them were cornered at the dining table during lunch time and to make it worse Bill, Fleur, George, Fred and Charlie Weasley, Remus and Tonks Lupin and lastly Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were all there.

It seemed that someone had let it slip to the others that the two of them had returned from where they had been. As soon as lunch had started all conversations stopped when Remus looked at the two teens wondering where Harry was and them _"Where is Harry? Why is he not down for lunch?"_

Ron chocked on his food as he clearly not expected that to be the first question to be asked. After receiving several thumping's in the back, which the Weasley twins took great pleasure in doing that.

Smirking evilly at Ron, Gred and Forge looked at each other and they both started teasing Ron with each finishing the others line.

_  
"What seems to have...."_

_"Got your Knickers in twist..."_

_  
"Ronneckins?"_

They both finished the last word together. Looking towards Ron they saw his face turn beet red either from embarrassment or anger. Coming to Ron's rescue Hermione diverted all attention from Ron to herself when she spoke, "We actually don't know where he is right now. 'seeing the shocked faces she continued hurriedly' you see we had an argument on the lack of progress in the mission we told him that we needed help in this but his ego wouldn't let him do that. Well it turned in to a big fight then we left."

Remus, who had been drinking a glass of pumpkin juice; spit all the juice that he had in his mouth showering Ron whom had been sitting right across him, Fred and George hi-fived each other and laughed at their brother who was soaking wet.

As Remus who was cleaning the mess he had caused, Mr. Weasley gave his youngest child a sharp look as he questioned him _"Am I correct to assume that my son Ron was the cause of this argument?"_ Ron was surprised and angered at being accused as if he was responsible of the split up he spoke in a loud angry voice as he tried to defend himself _"It was not my fault that we argued. We told Harry that we needed help in the stupid mission given by Dumbledore but he kept refusing. What was I to do if we ate mushrooms and dried fish almost everyday I even wish I had rather gone to school than go to the stupid mission with the most wanted man right now in Britain."_

Silence filled the room as everybody contemplated what he had just said and just to add salt to the wound, Hermione continued with a smug and a superior look in her face, _"And on top of that right before we left, he attacked us, petrified us and obliviated us of all the memories that we had of the mission given by Dumbledore."_

The ghostly silence never lasted for long as a high shrill voice shot up _"He what? I can't believe that Harry would do such a thing." _Rushing towards her son she started fussing over her son _"My little baby are you okay? Are you feeling fine? If you need anything just let me know my Ronnie." _moving towards Hermione she hugged her and said, _"I'm so glad you said that Hermione, I don't think I would have forgiven Harry if he had hurt you two."_

Remus looked at the two children that were or rather had been Harry's best friends for the last seven years. He could sense something was off as Harry would never do such a thing unless he was provoked.

Wanting to get to the bottom of this he asked the two children _"So I take it the three of you never stayed at ..." _looking confused for a minute he looked at Mr. Weasley before he spoke _"Arthur do you know where you stayed after Voldermort's resurrection?"_

Looking confused at being asked such a question he answered _"Of course we stayed at the.... wait a minute! Molly dear, do you remember the name of the place where we stayed." _Mr. Weasley asked his wife as he sought help from her.

_"Don't be silly dear; you can't be that old to forget the name of Sirius house.... Oh my am so sorry but I don't seem to remember the name of Sirius house. But I do know it is somewhere in London."_

Looking grave at Mr. Weasley he asked him _"Do you know what this means Arthur?" _Seeing his nod he continued _"We need to investigate about this, come on Tonks I'll tell you what happened later." _as he saw that she was about to protest. As soon as the husband and wife had left the Burrow, the rest of the occupants looked clueless with the exception of Mr and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur Weasley.

_"Dad would you like me to ask at Gringots to see if someone was hired do it?" _Bill asked his dad. _"Yes that would be good because we all know that for someone to perform such a thing it takes a lot of power. So they must have been two people to do that or they could have hired the goblins help." _Mr. Weasley said as he rubbed at his temples tiredly.

_"Don't worry both Fleur and I will ask around in Gringots since we both work there."_ Bill assured his dad as he looked at his wife for reaffirmation. Seeing her husbands look, she looked at Mr. Weasley and said _"Bill eez right Mr. Weazley."_

_"We better get going for work dad, the goblins have become strict on all human workers since the war has started. We shall report what we find there as soon as possible." _Bill spoke as he stood up from his chair and gently helped Fleur from her sit.

**  
**As soon as they were gone Arthur Weasley turned to Hermione and Ron and asked them in a dead voice _"I want both of you to tell me exactly what happened after you left the Burrow during the death eater attack?" _

**  
**_"Well as soon as we left the Burrow we apparated to London where we encountered two death eaters, then we apparated to ….. Sirius House,we received your patronous message there. During one of our missions we accidentally apparated there with a death eater at our tail, we think he saw the house so we apparated away from there and haven't been there since then." _A red faced Hermione spoke extemporaneously.

_"Well that explains a lot now, I need to get to work as I am already late as it is and you two had better prepare because you are going back to Hogwarts as soon as possible; I am going to let it slip out at the __ministry that you are cured from the spattergroit and will be back to school with Hermione." _Mr. Weasley said as he stood up from his sit and kissed his wife before apparating away.

As soon as he was one George and Fred both of whom were still there looked at each other before they started teasing the other two Gryffindor's. 

_"Ooh Ronneckins and his little girlfriend..."_

_"How does it feel to have a girl stand by your side little ickle Ronneckins?"_

_"Have you told Hermione that you fancy her?"_

_"Have you kissed her yet ickle Ronneckins?"_

_"Can you tell us how it felt to be obliviated by your best friend?"_

_"How does Harry do it Gred?"_

_"Well Forge you know Harry he just does it."_

While the twins continued to tease Ron and Hermione mercilessly they failed to see their faces turn red , not able to take it any longer Ron bellowed at the twins, _"Shut up you two!"_

The twins smirked at Ron's anger but before they could tease him again Mrs. Weasley interfered and shooed the twins away. _"That's enough you two! Don't you have a shop to look after? As for you Ron dear and Hermione you two had better get ready because in twenty minutes we will be going to Diagon alley to buy your things that you will be needing for your seventh year, its too dangerous to allow you two to go alone."_

With that everybody with the exception of Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen.**  
**

**Grimmauld Place**

**  
**It had been over four hours since Harry had sent Kreacher to bring the goods he needed. Having the peace and solitude in the Black library, Harry was able to think clearly about the Horcruxes and about his future.

Focusing his attention back to the book that read; **_Curses, Charms & Spells (By the four founders of Hogwarts). _**Harry had been surprised to find a book written by the four founders, how it had found its way in the Black's Library and not in Hogwarts flummoxed him. But he couldn't care less since the book seemed to be a lot more useful than other books.

A tap on the window snapped Harry out of his reading, looking up at the nearest window he saw a regal looking eagle perched on the window sill. Slightly cautious he walked towards the window and opened it as soon as he did that the eagle flew and perched itself on the nearest chair.

As Harry looked at it closely he noticed that the eagle had two letters tied to both its legs. Removing the letters from the eagle's legs. He noticed that it had not yet left figuring that whoever sent him the letters must be waiting for his reply. As he opened the first letter he noticed that it had Gringots seal.

_Mr. Potter,_

_It has come to our attention that you are on the run from you-Know-Who and his followers. As it is you must be wondering what our letter must be all about. It seems Albus Dumbledore has left you a couple things here at Gringots together with his letter explaining everything to you in case he died._

_Well his instructions were to give you as soon as you reached you reached seventeen years of age. We have tried to contact you several times but it seems your running from the ministry and you-Know-Who's followers made it difficult for us to find you._

_Recent activities have led us to be believe that a certain someone has just moved in and added protections to the ancestral house of Black's. We would also like to inform you that you have been left everything that your godfather owned before he died as the rightful heir and since it has been proven because of the command you have over the house elf._

_We have kept the Black's and Potter's family ring in this letters envelop, you are to wear them to signify that you are the Head of both Ancient and Noble houses of both the Black's and the Potter's. As the head of the Black house you are have the power to disown certain members that you see are not fit to belong to the Black's and not only that you also have the right to visit the vaults Bellatrix and Narcissa Black since they are the only other two members (if you can count Draco Black Malfoy then that should make them three.) and confiscate whatever you like from their vaults._

_With that Mr. Potter I'd also like to tell you that it seems Albus Dumbledore has left all his possessions in his vault, for more on that you will have to read the second letter which has been left to you by Albus Dumbledore. Inside the letter there are things which are shrunken, as soon as you open the letter they will magically expand to their original sizes._

_I would also like to request a meeting you Mr. Potter so that I can discuss some important and personal business with you. All you have to do is reply back to us with your suitable date of choosing and send. As soon as we receive your feedback we would send a portkey to you, do not fear the death eaters finding you here._

_May your fortunes grow daily,_

_Ragnok_

_Head Goblin – British branch Gringots_

Reaching for the opened envelop he found two rings; the Potter's and the Black's respectively. The Potter family ring was made of white gold and had a griffin symbol while the Black family ring which was black in color (he had no idea of what it was made of) and it had a grim as its symbol.

Putting both of them on the middle finger he felt a slight tingle and warmth pass through his body. Looking at the rings he had wore he was surprised to see that they had combined to form a silver color with retaining both the griffin and the grim as its symbols.

Looking towards the second later; supposedly left by Dumbledore he decided to read it later as for now he summoned a quill and a piece of parchment and composed a reply to Gringots.  
Dinner time was a quiet affair for Harry; he stared deplorably at Dumbledore's letter in front of him. Putting the plates he had used for his dinner on the dish washer, he flicked his wand at it and it started washing itself.

Sitting himself back at an armchair he summoned Dumbledore's letter to him and with a heavy heart he slit the envelop open.

The first thing he noticed was the items that dropped on his laps and quickly expanded to their normal sizes. As soon as he saw it he recognized after being in Dumbledore's office several times and they even used it last year, this was Dumbledore's pensieve. As usual the pensieve always awed him and he couldn't help but run his hands on the carved on the sides of the pensieve.

Setting it down gently he saw three bottles that had milky looking liquids inside. Recognizing them as pensieve memories probably from Dumbledore concerning the Horcruxes, growing excited he inwardly thanked Dumbledore on his thoughtfulness.

As his eyes fell on the last item his eyes started to fill up with tears as he saw that it was a thin long white stick. Running his hand above the wand stick that used to belong to Dumbledore, he could practically feel the power coming from the wand begging him to pick it up.

Not tempted by the wand he ignored it and picked up Dumbledore's letter and read it. Ten minutes later found Harry slumped on the armchair with tears streaming down his face non-stop. Dumbledore's letter played in his head again and again the letter had mentioned all the possibilities of the objects that Voldermort might have used to create a Horcrux and their possible locations.

On top of that the letter had mentioned the possibility of a seventh Horcrux that Voldermort might have accidentally created during the when he had gone to kill him but what troubled Harry was that Dumbledore had stated that he wasn't sure where the Horcrux resided.

But what worried Harry the most was the piece of information that Dumbledore had provided concerning his wand. Apparently it appeared that the name of the wand was known as the Elder wand, Dumbledore had taken it (well more like won it after defeating the wielder of that wand in a duel, it so happened that the wielder was none other than the former Dark Lord, Grindelwald ). From what Dumbledore had written it happened that the wand had two cores instead of one and it could wield a lot of power if the right person had it and he was afraid of the wand falling in the wrong hands.

With a little bit of trepidation Harry reached for the wand using his right hand, as soon as his hand neared the wand he was shocked when he saw the wand jump right into his hand and he felt sudden warmth in his fingers in fact it was much stronger than when he had purchased his Holly wand. Raising the wand above his head, swishing it down through the air and a stream of white and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Standing up from his chair he tested his new wand which proved to be much better than his Holly wand, he noticed that he could easily perform spells with this new wand. Sadness was washed away and replaced with excitement and hankering of testing his new wand.

As he was about to leave the kitchen he heard a pop sound signaling the arrival of Kreacher. His excitation was increased as he recalled the assignment he had given the ancient elf. Busting in to the kitchen he saw Kreacher looking exhausted but pleased at the same. Seeing Harry come in, the rogue elf bowed stiffly and croaked _"Master, Kreacher has done what you asked him to do. It was difficult to get some of the things you wanted but Kreacher did as you asked him to do." _an evil smirk was all over the elf's wrinkly face.

_"Good work Kreacher. Do you think you can tell me what you brought here and what kind of animal is that in that cage?"_ Harry asked as he saw a small cage that contained a black furry animal that looked like a dog and at the same time as a wolf.

Following his master's gaze, Kreacher puffed his chest as he was praised and he had gained his masters attention unlike the other crazy elf. _"That Master is a shadow wolf, a shadow wolf has the ability_ _to go from one place to another using the shadows like we house elf we teleport but the shadow wolf they shadow walk. They also have the ability to share their ability with the person that they bond with."_

Seeing Harry's look of amazement and understanding he moved towards another cage. A sudden gasp from Harry brought a smile to his face_. "Kreacher is that a....?" _Harry asked as his eyes followed Kreacher who was moving towards another cage which contained a white colored bird.

Seeing nothing else Harry turned towards Kreacher, _"Did you manage to get the animagus potion and its book_ _on how to become one?" _A nod from Kreacher made Harry breath a sigh of relief. With a snap of his fingers, Kreacher made the animagus potion and its book appear in the middle of the kitchen.

With a happy smile on his face Harry dismissed Kreacher by thanking him profusely and telling him that he needed a rest. As soon as Kreacher was gone Harry flicked his new wand at the two cages grabbing the animagus potion and its book with his left hand, he left the kitchen with the two cages floating behind him and made his way up to his bedroom.


	4. A Trip Back to Hogwarts

**AN: **_**This story doesn't follow the Deathly Hallows in terms of the muggle borns being wanted by the ministry and so on .............**_

**Chapter 4**

A Trip Back to Hogwarts

Hogwarts

The Great Hall

Owls flocked in to the great hall and flew to their respective recipients, each parents and their students seemed to be eager to keep in touch with each other during dangerous times like this. Looking up from her seat Daphne hid her smile and maintained her ice queen persona as she saw her mother's owl making its way towards her.

As soon as the owl was relived off its package Daphne gave it a peace of bacon and watched it fly away. Looking side ways at her best friend (they met on the platform nine and three quarters during her first trip to Hogwarts) she could see her reading her letter from her parents. Daphne was a pure-blood witch coming from the Greengrass family unlike her Tracy was a half-blood; her mother was a pure-blood while her father was a muggle born.

Daphne was a pretty young woman but not in a conventional manner. Her blue eyes were so bright as to be disturbing to some. Daphne's long jet black hair was wavy and her slightly petite nose complemented her strong jaw. She was curvy in all the right places but no one would ever call her busty. Her figure was that of slim athletic grace. She projected feminine strength to all.

While Tracy was slightly taller than Daphne, she dirty blonde hair that was wavy. Her blue eyes shone with mischief. She had a well filled chest that made boys drool all over themselves whenever she wore a tight blouse that tended to reveal a little bit of her packages.

Opening her letter Daphne read through it as quickly as she could, after reading it she put it school bag and mentally reminded herself to compose a reply back to her mother as soon as possible. Reaching for the Daily Prophet that had come with her mother's owl she perused through it looking for anything interesting. Opening the second page of the Daily Prophet she saw that they had not yet managed to capture Potter, as his picture was still there together with the prize money for those who will capture him.

Sighing inwardly she gazed at the picture that they had used to publish on the Daily Prophet, recognizing it instantly that this picture had been taken during his fourth year (during the Triwizard tournament) the picture of Potter seemed to look at her with those mesmerizing green eyes before looking away.

Daphne could still remember the haunted look that Potter had after the third task of the Triwizard tournament, but the haunted look had only worsened after the battle at the DOM where the Dark Lord had been sighted by the Minister and the aurors.

She still could not help but feel that Potter was not wanted by the ministry of magic but rather he was wanted by the Dark Lord himself. Some people had begun to notice the various changes that occurred at the ministry, some had even begun to suspect that the Dark Lord was behind it but they were too afraid to voice their opinions should they be targeted next.

It was pretty obvious that Potter had not killed Professor Dumbledore; Professor Snape was the one who did it. The little portentous bastard of a Malfoy, had boasted several times on how he was the one that he helped the death eaters enter the castle and how he had managed to disarm Professor Dumbledore and Snape came and killed him so as to take all the praise from the Dark Lord after he had done all the hard work.

On top of that he had gone on and on about Potter's days being numbered by the Dark Lord and he would soon be dead. It seems that he had been chosen as the Head Boy this year courtesy of the new Headmaster, who was none other than Professor Snape.

It seemed that the Dark Lord was expecting Potter to come to Hogwarts so he had gone and ensured that Hogwarts had become a home to the two Carrows, Alecto and Amycus respectively. The addition of these two death eaters as teachers here had made it tough to the muggle borns students and the other three houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw).

It seemed that these two new Professors had taken to heart a new way to punish students and that was through the cruciatus curse. Not only that they had even taught the junior death eaters how to use that curse, they allowed the junior death eaters to teach themselves by having them practice on their fellow students that had committed mistakes.

This had made the situation at the school extremely dangerous, with the fact that the junior death eaters had found a new hobby apart from the use of the cruciatus curse that is, they had taken to rape girls that they caught wandering in the halls sometimes. The other teachers the likes of Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and even the grounds keeper Professor Hagrid had taken to helping the students that were in trouble. But that never seemed to help at all.

Daphne had even wished sometimes that Potter was here he would have tried to put a stop to this but with him on the run for his life from the Dark Lord that seemed highly unlikely. Tracy had come up with the idea of the two of them sticking together that is they stayed by each others side no matter what. It seemed that the junior death eaters liked to pick up their victims when they were alone. So when they agreed to this both Tracy and herself had even managed to defend themselves a couple of times against attempts to rape them by the junior death eaters by teaming up together.

A loud boisterous voice coming from the Gryffindor table broke her out of her thoughts. Looking at the table she saw the newest Gryffindor leader none other than the Weasel boy, he had rejoined the school together with that beaver looking Granger girl a week ago. It was rumored that the Weasel boy had gone down with spattergroit, a nasty wizarding disease that was.

But she was clueless as to why the Granger girl had not come to school, she was sure that she wasn't sick but rather they had been in hiding or on the run with Potter. It seemed that these two not so Gryffindor's had backed away or rather chickened from what they had been doing and had.

Looking at the Weasel boy and the Granger girl she could clearly see that they both had superior and smug looks incised on their faces. A giggle caught her attention as she looked at the source and saw the Weasley girl all over the Longbottom heir.

It seemed that the Weasley girl had taken to heart in dating the last and only remaining male heirs of prominent families in the wizarding world. Last year she had dated the-boy-who-lived, the only living Potter left. This year with the absence of Potter at school she had taken to date the Longbottom heir.

A soft voice interrupted her from her musings_ "You seem to be deep in thought, is everything alright?" _a concerned Tracy asked her friend. Before Daphne could reply her friend she was interrupted by Draco and his two cronies _"Greengrass I want you to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend. You should be glad that I chose you over Pansy."_

  
Daphne couldn't help but give the Malfoy skunk a disgusted look and then replied him coldly _"I've already told you before and I will tell you this again Malfoy; I'd rather date Potter than be with an ass like you. Why don't you toddle off and give your Pansy a good shag." _a snicker from her left alerted her that Tracy had been listening at their conversation.

Malfoy's face seemed to have adapted a chameleon's ability of changing color as his face changed from pale, purple, puce and settled at red._ "You are going to regret it Greengrass. I swear you are going to pay for this really soon." _a pissed Malfoy ranted at Daphne before he turned and left the great hall with his two cronies at his heels. Daphne felt a shiver run down her spine as the Malfoy heir spoke in a fit of rage.

Ignoring whatever was happening at the Gryffindor table she refocused her attention back to the Daily Prophet. Half an hour later found Daphne and Tracy making their way to the first class of the day.

**The Leaky Cauldron**

A dark cloaked figure could be seen entering the Leaky Cauldron and make his way to the counter. Grabbing a bottle of butter beer the dark cloaked figure made his way to the darkest corner of the Leaky Cauldron and sat down.

Harry smirked under his cloak as he sat himself at the darkest corner of the Leaky Cauldron, currently he was under disguise and he was making plans on how he could go to Hogwarts. It had been a week since Harry had read Dumbledore's letter.

During this week Harry had been able to bond with his two pets the shadow wolf and the white phoenix. He had also taken to spend his time reading, training and looking at the memories left behind by Dumbledore.

Harry had named the two pets as padfoot and talons respectively. He had named them in respect of his dead godfather. During this week he had been planning on ways of getting to Hogwarts after he had overheard a couple of amateurs death eaters talk of the caterwauling charm that had been kept all over Hogsmeade and would alert all the death eaters should someone apparate to Hogsmeade.

This news had dented his first plan, he had decided first to apparate to Hogsmeade and then slip inside the Honeydukes and take the secret passage to Hogwarts and do what he had to do. So Harry had taken to try and disguise himself using glamour spells to his utmost disappointment he could lacked the particular skill in that area.

It was during his frustration when he managed to unlock his Metamorphmagy skills; this had occurred when he willed his hair to be blond and his eyes to be black. To his credit he had taken to practice his Metamorphmagy skills and he had managed to master it quickly.

On top of that a few days after he had gotten padfoot, the shadow wolf had taken an instant liking to Harry and had bonded himself to Harry unlike the shadow wolf, talons (the white phoenix) was a little wary of Harry at first but she eventually warmed up to Harry as the days passed. Imagine Harry's surprise when he had managed to shadow walk from his bedroom to the kitchen scaring the living daylights out of Kreacher. It was an experience Harry was never going to forget because the feeling of shadow walking was nauseating and he vomited right after doing it.

Since Harry was easily not to be thwarted away he had taken to practice shadow walking with the help of padfoot he had quickly mastered it. It seemed talons had taken to perching herself on Harry's shoulder whenever he went, he had been forced to apply disillusionment charm several times when he was out in the crowds under disguise when she flatly refused to leave him alone.

After much consideration he had even thought of going there using the knight bus but he was sure that the bus would be crawling with death eaters and would attract attention of people. He ruled that idea out after much consideration. During one of his check ups on Hogwarts using the marauders map, he was not surprised to see his former friends back at school.

Ever since the split up he still couldn't get the Hermione's words out of his head _'We are not ready to die for you_' and for that Harry was never going to forgive the two of them after all he had been prepared to die for them.

As for today Harry was ready to put his plan in to action he had gotten a tip from Kreacher that today there was going to be trip to Hogsmeade. So this was the perfect day for him to execute his plan with the majority of students out of his way and the teachers would probably be relaxing and not as alert as usual.

With a smirk on his face the dark cloaked figure disappeared into the shadows but not before he left a couple of galleons on the table for Tom; the bar-keeper.

* * *

Amidst the deep dark dungeons near the Slytherin common room a solitary figure appeared in the shadows, reaching into his cloak he removed a fagged out parchment tapping it he muttered something under his breath.

As the map unveiled itself and showed the occupants in Hogwarts, Harry felt his blood boil in anger as he saw the name _Draco Malfoy _with his two apes with _Tracy Davies_ and _Daphne Greengrass _not far from where he was.

Checking the marauders once again to make sure that Snape and the Carrows were no where nearby, he put the map away and made his way towards Malfoy and his cronies.

Harry made his way taciturnly, as soon as he saw Malfoy and his two goons towering over a raven haired girl who seemed to try to protect someone, probably her friend who was unconscious by the looks of it. The blonde seemed to be bragging while the raven haired girl simply looked furious and was glaring daggers at him.

Not wanting to know what the little pervert of a death eater was going to do, he sent multiple stunners on the two goons as soon as they fell unconscious he hit Malfoy with the Langlock spell and followed with an Expulso sending him into the wall, before finishing him off with the Bat-Boogey hex on his face. The little debauch never knew what hit him as he was knocked unconscious by the Expulso spell.

Banishing the two goons and Malfoy, away he removed his hood running a hand through his hair he knelt near the raven haired girl presuming that she was Daphne Greengrass. Looking at her he couldn't help but admire at her feminine beauty that she possessed.

Clearing his throat he questioned her, _"Do you know what she was hit with?"_ as oceanic blue eyes met his he could clearly see the panic filled in her eyes. Patting her lightly on the shoulder he told her _"You better take her to madam Pomfrey before its too late." _as he stood up and started walking away he told her _"You may want to keep it quiet about my visit here or you may just find yourself not remembering what happened down here." _and with that he was gone. 

**Daphne's POV**

Waking up early that day she was looking forward to leaving Hogwarts and spend the day at Hogsmeade with Tracy. She had decided that she would wear casual clothes, and blasé. This was going to be the first trip to Hogsmeade this year. Sitting on her bed as she patiently waited for Tracy to finish whatever she was doing, she couldn't help but wonder where Potter was and he was doing right now.

She was sure that he was not only on the run but he was up to something else. She was sure that Potter was not going to hide and let the Dark Lord take over the wizarding world. As much as she hated to admit it she knew that if someone was able to stop the Dark Lord then it was Potter, to her knowledge no one with the exception of Professor Dumbledore and Potter had managed to duel with the Dark Lord and live to tell the tale.

With Professor Dumbledore no longer alive the whole wizarding world seemed to pin up their hopes on the-boy-who-lived; Harry Potter. Looking over at the other room mates she couldn't help but snigger as she saw Pansy drooling all over her pillow while Millicent Bulstrode seemed to be fighting with her pillow.

As soon as Tracy was done the two Slytherins made their way to the great hall and sat themselves on their usual seats. Since it was Saturday and very few people woke up early. So the two girls took this time to write letters to their parents.

An hour later found the girls on their to the Slytherin's common room before reaching the Slytherin's common room they were attacked and before they could do anything Tracy was knocked unconscious with a wordless spell.

Turning around Daphne came face to face with a smirking Draco Malfoy with his two goons.

_"What do you think you are doing Malfoy?"_ Daphne asked him coldly.

_"Well well Greengrass it looks like you are all alone now. You are going to pay for what you said to me the other day. You will regret refusing my offer. I am going to make you my trophy and my father will make sure of that. If I am correct right now he should be at your house negotiating with your father." _Draco puffed his chest as he spoke. 

_"Leave me alone, Malfoy. You do not want to do this."_ The statuesque raven haired, known as Daphne Greengrass, or the Ice Queen to many, told the white-blond boy in front of her in her typical cold tone. _"You will be sorrier than you can ever imagine."_

_"But I think I do want this, Greengrass."_ Malfoy slowly and lightly trailed the tip of his wooden wand over her robes from just under her chin down to the middle of her body. _"Besides, after I've finished -- experiencing you -- you need never even remember, so nothing will happen to me."_

_  
"Malfoy, even if you Obliviate me, I'll eventually figure out something has happened, and as you're the only one who won't leave me alone, I'll come after you just because."_ Her voice lowered even more as she finished her threat. _"So help me, if you don't let me go right now, you may be the last Malfoy ever -- if I have my way."_

_"Such empty threats Greengrass, by the time my father is done with negotiating with your father you …" _but he never finished his sentence as he was interrupted when Crabbe and Goyle fell down simultaneously.

Looking at the black cloaked figure that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere Daphne was impressed when the figure hit Malfoy with wordless spells before Malfoy could even turn. As soon as she saw that Malfoy was also out she focused her attention towards her friend, panic filled her heart as she looked at her unconscious best friend.

shewas cut from her rivet when the cloaked figure knelt beside her and asked her _"Do you know what she was hit with?" _looking up towards the cloaked figure she just managed to prevent herself from gasping out aloud as she saw the boy that was wanted by the Dark Lord and the Ministry right in front of her in one of the most guarded place in the whole of Britain; Harry Potter.

She felt a rush when Potter patted her shoulder lightly and said _"You better take her to madam Pomfrey before its too late." _looking up at him she saw that he was going away but not before he warned her "_You may want to keep it quiet about my visit here or you may just find yourself not remembering what happened down here." _she could clearly feel the warning in his statement as he spoke._  
_

Looking up Daphne was surprised as she looked up to find that Potter was gone, casting a levitation spell on Tracy she levitated her to the hospital but not before she stomped on Malfoy's crotch and spat on his face.

------------------------------------------------

Harry made his way to the seventh floor making sure to be discreet as possible as soon as he reached the painting of Barnabas the Barmy. Removing the marauder's map from his pocket checking it once again to make sure he was alone, he called out for Dobby and asked for the Gryffindor's sword.

As soon as he was given the Sword he couldn't help but admire its beauty, swinging it above his head he noticedthatthe sword was not as heavy as it looked indicating that it was spelled to be light.

Putting the sword away he thanked the eccentric elf who was delighted in seeing him but at the same time not happy with him being there.

Focusing his attention on the stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet. 

Walking past this bit of wall three times while concentrating hard on place where you could hide your things. As soon as the door appeared he opened it. He entered the room and saw that the room was still the same as before, it was large the size of a cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be the objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. There were alleyways and roads bordered and damaged furniture, stowed away perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by the castle-proud house-elves.

Hurrying forward into one of the many alleyways between all this hidden treasure. He turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet in which Montague had got lost two years ago and also used by Draco Malfoy to bring death eaters to Hogwarts.

He didn't stop until he'd reached the cupboard with the bust of an ugly old warlock perched on

top. A wig and a tarnished tiara crowned the bust. Before taking the bust down, he opened the cupboard and reached behind a cage with some unidentifiable remains left inside; the Half-blood Princes book. He quickly put it in his back pack and then focused on the Ravenclaw's tiara, running his wand in an intricate manner 'a method he learned in the warding book, used by curse breakers to check if something is cursed during excavations' sighing loudly as he saw the complex wards used by Tom Riddle to protect his Horcrux, he pondered for a minute before he decided to avoid touching the tiara at all cost.

The wards used by Voldermort had been tied to the Horcrux in the tiara so for as long as the Horcrux was still there then the wards were unlikely to be removed without risking magical backlash. Making up his mind quickly knowing of the dire consequences, he levitated the tiara and dropped it right on his feet.

Summoning the Gryffindor's sword wandlessly he aimed the tip of the sword at the tiara, rising it high above his head he brought it down and with a loud bang and a Scream the Horcrux was destroyed and in that process causing the whole school to shake up after that magical backlash which had also hurled Harry thru the air and into the Vanishing Cabinet but not without leaving him with a few burns on his face from the magical reverberation.

**Meanwhile.......**

Daphne had taken Tracy to the hospital wing and in a matter of minutes the nurse had healed Tracy from whatsoever curse she had been hit with. But still the nurse had taken a firm stand that Tracy stayed there until dinner time for her own well-being.

With no classes that day Daphne sat near her friend who was awake after all the fuss, she told her of what had happened after she had been knocked out. Tracy like Daphne was perplexed at the audacity that Potter had and not even afraid of getting caught even when he was in the enemy's yard.

Not long after madam Pomfrey had forced Tracy to drink a potion she had fallen asleep, Daphne suspected that the potion had been laced with a dreamless potion. Lost in her own thoughts Daphne couldn't stop herself from thinking about Potter.

The boy she had met yesterday had changed a lot since last year, he still looked skinny not that he wasn't already but being on the run had certainly helped him with his growth sprout. He was a lot taller than last year and his hair which was still the same but not as messier as before due to the fact that it had grown past the nape. 

But one thing that appealed to Daphne was the mysterious air that surrounded Potter; he was like a man on a secret mission there was no secret that he was magically more powerful than he ever was. With the way he had handled the little ferret, he never knew what had hit him. She now owed her life to Potter she knew that if she ever saw him again she'd have to thank him. But something kept nagging her about what Malfoy had said hopefully as soon as they were out of here she'd have to write a letter to her mother and ask her.

A sudden explosion shook the whole school broke her out of her sentiments and in the process waking up her friend. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and left the office in great hurry. Living the two girls alone and clueless as to what was going on. A dazed Tracy looked at her best-friend with a questioning look but all she got was a shrug from her, looking towards the door she swung her legs towards the other side of the bed with a cheerful smile she said,_ "Well why don't you tell me what happened and how the hell did I end up here?"_

Daphne sighed as she settled herself into a more comfortable position in the armchair and started recounting what had occurred earlier.__

**Meanwhile.....**

Harry shook the cobwebs that threatened to overcome him, standing up slowly as he felt a faint throb in his back after being thrown into the Vanishing Cabinet. Staggering a little bit he managed to walk towards the pieces of the tiara that had possessed Voldermort's piece of soul. 

Performing a complex scan on the tiara he saw that it was no longer warded and the Horcrux had been removed. Not wasting anytime he picked up the pieces and put them in his backpack. Knowing that the all the current residents in the school had felt that explosion and the teachers were probably investigating the source and the place where the explosion had occurred, his time at Hogwarts was limited and he had to destroy the Slytherin's Locket and get the hell out of here.

Removing the locket from his backpack (he never wanted to wear it after seeing its side-effects) he put it down and hissed _open_ in parseltongue. The Locket swung open with a little click and at that instant a hologram of a young Tom Riddle rose out of the locket.

Harry raised the sword above his head and made a move to bring it down when the hologram of Tom Riddle spoke, _"Harry Potter! I've seen your heart and it is mine. I've seen your dreams and your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible..."_

Harry to stunned to do anything he just stared at the hologram of Tom Riddle, his eyes changed to red and slit-pupiled as it saw the uncertainty in Harry's eyes. His eyes shining brightly he continued to speak_, "You never got love and attention that you friends had in abundance....always craved to be loved and wanted your own family....Never had a parental figure in your life, lived under the cupboard for eleven years....witnessed the murder of your god-father 'Black' and your Mentor Albus Dumbledore.....abandoned by your two best-friends in the time you needed help most."_

Harry backed away with a yelp as he saw Tom Riddle's eyes gleam and suddenly the Hologram split into two and this time taking the shape of Hermione and Ron.The Riddle-Hermione spoke, _"Well well if it isn't the-boy-who-lived, my parents are dead I am lonely, I need your pity. Just to let you know Potter you are nothing than a murderer, you got Sirius killed and you did nothing but watch as Dumbledore was killed. That is why we hate you and have abandoned you."_

  
As soon as she finished talking the Riddle-Hermione let out a loud cackle, before Harry, who looked emotionless. The Riddle-Ron sneered at Harry, _"Just to let you know Potter I befriended you so as to get a piece of the limelight, with you so thick-headed it was easy to fool you. My family does not like_ _you, with your tendencies of getting people killed its a wonder that we are still alive, as Hermione said the other day we are not ready to die for fat-head like you!" _and he stretched like a snake and entwined himself around Riddle-Hermione, wrapping her in a close embrace: Their lips met.

A still emotionless Harry raised the sword high above his head and brought it down: a clang of metal and a long drawn-out scream was heard. The monstrous versions of Ron and Hermione were gone: looking down at the shattered remains of the locket on the floor was enough to let him know that the Horcrux had been destroyed. Picking up the shattered locket that had tormented him, he put it into the bottomless backpack together with the Gryffindor's Sword.

Knowing he had to leave Hogwarts as quickly as he could. He reached at the nearest door yanking it open he stepped out. Taking a minute to look at the surroundings he noticed that he was on the third floor. A sudden shout startled him as he heard someone yell,_ "It's Potter, get him!"_

Before he could do anything he was hit with the Banishing charm and thrown into the wall. Struggling to get back to his feet as the pain in the back doubled, he heard someone yell,_ "Crucio!" _sending the sickly red-curse right at him.


End file.
